Five Arrested in 2005 Lexis Nexis Data Breach

GuardMyCreditFile has this story.

Federal authorities announced today that they have arrested five people in connection with the data breach at Lexis Nexis, a data wharehousing company, last year. The breach which exposed more than 300,000 people was the largest known data breach of its kind when it occurred, in early 2005.

Based on statements that some of them have made, none of the data they gained access to was used for purposes of identity theft. Instead, the motive appears to have been to carry out various pranks, many of which were focused on Hollywood celebrities. One of the accused told reporters that he had been involved in the theft of celebrity data but he denied that identity theft was ever a goal. In what can only be called an ironic twist to the story, Mann asked, "Besides, don't you think it's wrong that a company like that has all this information that's available to anyone who's willing to pay for it?"